An hour later, all six ascended together to the eighty-eighth floor.
The moment they arrived, the first person they saw was Jamie Redriver.
At that moment, spiritual energy was surging wildly around Jamie Redriver, nearly taking tangible form. To Joe Di's astonishment, Jamie's aura soared, on the verge of breaking through from the first to the second level of the Seabreaker Stage.
"This floor is for cultivating Dao Laws. Why don't we train here for a while?" Shu Bairen suggested with excitement.
Every level of the Fivefold Dao Tower was saturated with spiritual energy, each more intense than the last. Yet none of the previous tiers matched the clarity of Dao Laws or the concentration of spiritual energy found on the eighty-eighth floor.
"What do you all think?" Joe Di asked, sweeping his gaze over the group. Nearly everyone nodded in agreement.
"Very well, let’s all cultivate here. Remember—while training, keep a strand of divine sense locked onto the Fivefold Dao Disk. Do not let it go." After his warning, Joe Di chose a spot for himself, intending to push his cultivation to the peak of Nascent Soul.
As Joe Di prepared to comprehend the foundational law of this floor, he sensed a faint fluctuation of Dao Laws in the space around Jamie Redriver.
Joe Di’s heart sank. Jamie Redriver could also perceive the foundational laws of the Fivefold Dao Tower—his origins were clearly extraordinary.
Instead of immediately diving into comprehension, Joe Di set a restriction on his space. Jamie Redriver’s cultivation was stronger, but Joe Di was confident his own divine sense was more refined.
Within just half an hour, Joe Di comprehended the foundational law of this floor and inscribed it into the Dao Disk. Only then did he begin cultivating with the Starstream Technique.
Xuanyuan Kong and the others were already immersed in cultivation, bathing in the dense spiritual laws of this realm. As soon as Joe Di activated the Starstream Technique, he felt the extraordinary benefits of training within the Fivefold Dao Tower.
If someone could observe the spiritual energy fluctuations, they would see that Jamie Redriver was absorbing the most, forming a vortex of energy around him that was invisible to the naked eye.
In just a few days, Joe Di once again broke through to the eighth level of the Nascent Soul. Upon reaching this stage, he sent his divine sense outward to investigate. As expected, Jamie Redriver had already advanced to the second level of the Seabreaker Stage.
Even Joe Di could not help but secretly admire Jamie Redriver's terrifying talent—a kind of aptitude he had never witnessed before.
Joe Di possessed the Starstream Veins, allowing him to absorb spiritual energy at a rate unmatched even by cultivators several realms higher. Yet now, Jamie Redriver's absorption speed surpassed his own—truly monstrous.
After another half month, Joe Di reached perfection at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul. Witnessing Jamie Redriver's frightening pace, Joe Di resolved to challenge the Void Spirit Stage.
Vast torrents of spiritual energy surged into Joe Di, refined by his Starstream Veins into the purest true essence, battering relentlessly against the bottleneck of the Void Spirit Stage.
Boom! Boom! Boom! With every attempt, Joe Di felt his meridians and bones tremble. Even with the resilience of his Tri-King Realm body, the true essence infused with law would force a mist of blood to seep from his skin after each impact.
After several days, Joe Di spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale. He knew he could not break into the Void Spirit Stage yet.
Back then, he had managed to break through the Nascent Soul realm only by condensing Dao Fire, seizing the fleeting opportunity to shatter the boundary with its power.
But now, even with the Little Gray Stone, his foundation was still too shallow.
"Even I wouldn't dare attempt the Void Spirit Stage without the aid of pills, and yet you try it here, unassisted?" Jamie Redriver's cold voice made Joe Di open his eyes.
Joe Di ceased his attempt, watching Jamie Redriver head toward the eighty-ninth floor. "I knew I wasn't wrong about you. If you stop showing off, you'd die for sure. Everyone, let's move on."
Though Ling Yixiao and the others still felt reluctant to leave, they could only rise and follow Joe Di up to the eighty-ninth floor.
In just over twenty days of cultivation, everyone's strength had soared. Training here for twenty days was worth more than a year of seclusion outside.
As soon as everyone reached the eighty-ninth floor, they saw Jamie Redriver in the midst of frenzied cultivation.
Joe Di understood Jamie Redriver's strategy. He was using the dense spiritual energy of the eighty-eighth floor to break through to the second level of the Seabreaker Stage, then leveraging the superior conditions of the eighty-ninth to reach the third level. At this rate, by the time he left the Fivefold Dao Tower, he might have perfected the Seabreaker Stage.
"Joe Di, why don't we also cultivate here for a while?" Shu Bairen suggested. He was now at the sixth level of the Seabreaker Stage, and a few more days of training might push him into the late stage. This floor was ideal.
If Joe Di hadn't perfected the Nascent Soul realm, he might have agreed to train longer. But now, certain that he had reached perfection, he knew he could not break through to the Void Spirit Stage here. Since advancement was impossible, what reason did he have to linger and waste time?
Joe Di was the leader; the others all looked to him. Clearly, everyone hoped to follow Jamie Redriver's example and cultivate here a while longer.
Joe Di glanced at Jamie Redriver, who was lost in cultivation, and spoke seriously: "I intend to rest here for half an hour, then proceed to the ninetieth floor. Shu, if you wish to remain and train, you may. But let me remind you—Dong could stay on the eighty-first floor only because the force there was within his tolerance as long as he avoided the Light Steps. The force on the eighty-ninth floor, without the Fivefold Dao Disk, may be beyond our endurance."
"We'll do as you say, Joe Di. In half an hour, we head to the ninetieth floor," Xuanyuan Kong agreed without hesitation.
With Xuanyuan Kong's support, the others could only agree. After all, Joe Di had already yielded to the group's wishes once; if they pressed him again, he would hardly be fit to lead.
It didn't even take half an hour for Joe Di to grasp the foundational law of the eighty-ninth floor. He rose and led the way to the ninetieth.
As Joe Di and the others left, Jamie Redriver opened his eyes to glance at them, then closed them again and resumed his frenzied cultivation. Just as Joe Di suspected, Jamie planned to break through to the third level of the Seabreaker Stage here before ascending to the ninetieth floor.
Upon entering the ninetieth floor, Joe Di was once again struck by the spiritual energy that stimulated his Sea of Consciousness. Faced with these rule-infused energies that could temper divine sense, everyone’s eyes lit up with excitement.
"There are exactly six meditation cushions—one for each of us!" Leah Jade exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement.
No one needed her to point it out; everyone saw that there were indeed only six cushions.
Having sensed the foundational laws of every previous floor, Joe Di had a hunch. Six people had ascended together, and there were six cushions—far too much of a coincidence. Perhaps, each time the Fivefold Dao Tower opened, only the first group to reach the ninetieth floor would have white jade cushions; any who followed would find none.
This time, six of them had arrived together, so there were six cushions. Had only one come, perhaps only a single cushion would exist. Joe Di suspected that last time, the first to reach the ninetieth floor wasn’t Yan Tashan. If his guess was right, Yan Tashan, ranked first on the Sea List, might not be as strong as the one who remained here.
"Yes, yes, one cushion for each of us! Ha, good thing we listened to Joe Di. If Jamie Redriver had arrived first, we’d be short one cushion," Xuanyuan Kong laughed heartily.
Joe Di laughed as well. "Exactly—one cushion for each! How about we place the Fivefold Dao Disk in the center of the six cushions?"
No one objected to Joe Di’s suggestion. Even Ling Yixiao, who coveted the Dao Disk, handed it over without hesitation. He wanted it, but not here—he would wait until they reached the top.
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Joe Di placed the Dao Disk in the center of the six cushions. During the process, he quietly inscribed several self-destruct restriction patterns into it.
Though he couldn't forge such a disk himself, he could still manipulate one of its patterns to trigger the entire disk's self-destruction.
Originally, Joe Di planned to leave the disk on the one hundred and eighth floor after everyone teleported away, since no one could reach that level. Now, it was clear his wish would not come true. Jamie Redriver would surely try to seize a cushion for refining divine sense—likely targeting Joe Di’s own. Since he couldn’t stay, he wouldn't let others remain and expose the fake Dao Disk.
The Fivefold Dao Disk had to be destroyed. He couldn't take it with him, nor could he leave it for those who came after. Blasting it was the only solution Joe Di could see.
Once the disk was set, each of the six took a white jade cushion.
Before anyone could temper their divine sense, Joe Di spoke again: "There are only six cushions here. When Jamie Redriver arrives, he'll try to take one. No matter whose cushion he goes for, I hope everyone will strike together against him."
Even though everyone knew Jamie Redriver would likely target Joe Di's cushion, none objected. He was just a low-level Seabreaker; any one of them could knock him out of the Fivefold Dao Tower with a single punch.
With agreement reached, no one wished to waste time. All focused their energy on tempering their divine sense.
Joe Di guided the needle-like spiritual energy into his Sea of Consciousness, and a wave of intense pain followed. Yet he soon discovered that this piercing energy spiraled through his mind, quickly refining his divine sense. Not only that—the energy made his divine sense even more focused and pure.
Normally, one would guide this refining energy into the Sea of Consciousness, exhaust it, and then draw in more, repeating the process. But Joe Di was different—he possessed the Soul Tempering Technique, allowing him to absorb the energy continuously and endlessly refine his divine sense.
Compared to the others, Joe Di’s rate of refinement was several times faster.
In just two days, Joe Di felt his Sea of Consciousness tremble and expand, his divine sense growing even more concentrated.
Joe Di suspected his divine sense had advanced again, though he wasn’t sure of its current level.
He didn't know when Jamie Redriver would reach the ninetieth floor, so he could only frantically absorb the spiritual energy, stimulating his Sea of Consciousness before Jamie arrived.
Two more days passed, and Joe Di still felt his rate of refinement was too slow. Unable to wait any longer, he continued to draw in the spiritual energy while swallowing a Firegod Herb.
(End of today's update. Good night, friends! Please support with your votes!)